Because I Wanted To
by DNAisUnique
Summary: Booth and Brennan still have things to discuss. *Spoilers for 'The Science in the Physicist.'*


**I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that two new episodes of **_**Bones**_** will air next week. The bad news is that I will be on vacation and probably won't have time to write. Wait, did I just use the phrases "bad news" and "vacation" in the same sentence?! Yeah, I'm so going to enjoy the time away, but I'll surely be thinking of you wonderful people who take the time to read (and review). Enjoy!**

**VVVVV**

"How's your mandible?" Brennan asked as she reached over the console and touched the side of Booth's face.

"My _jaw_ is fine," Booth replied lightly. "And it was the other side that got belted."

"You should probably put some ice on it when you get home." Her hand lingered on his face a second longer than necessary, though neither disliked the contact.

"Yeah, I've been whacked around enough to know that."

"Then why didn't you use your knowledge of past experiences to get out of the way?"

"Hey, how did I know I was going to be blindsided by a…blind guy. Sorry, that came out wrong."

Brennan laughed. "I've said things wrong once or twice."

"Yeah, once or twice today," Booth joked.

"I apologized!" She glanced at him, then matched his grin with one of her own. "Speaking of Dr. Collar, though, you were spot on in your prediction regarding his making a move on me."

"Spot on?" Booth questioned.

"What? Did I use the phrase incorrectly? Mr. Nigel-Murray said it during one of his analyses, and I understood it to mean 'exact' or 'to the point.'"

"It's just that I've never heard a non-British person say that. Why'd you tell him no?"

"Mr. Nigel-Murray?"

"No, Bones. Dr. Collar."

"Because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Well, yeah. I thought about what you said at the Collar Institute. Dr. Collar just lost his fiancée; he felt as though he had a void that needed to be filled. Naturally, he was attracted to me because of my intelligence, and he saw me as a suitable partner."

"And I thought you were going to tell me you turned him down because you thought I was sexy."

"You were the one who said you were sexy," she replied. "Although you have left marks on me. Metaphorically, of course," she finished softly.

"Of course, though I have to admit that I was surprised you didn't give him Dr. Collar a chance. I mean, he pulled us from that pressurized chamber thing. He kind of saved your life."

"Booth, it's illogical to give someone a chance based on whether or not they saved your life. You've saved my life on more than one occasion, so according to your logic, I should have given you an equal number of chances."

They grew silent and were suddenly aware of the tension in the vehicle. Booth gripped the steering wheel tighter, and Brennan picked at the side of her fingernail.

Finally, Brennan cleared her throat. "But the subject is moot since I was the one who saved our lives."

Booth snorted. "What, with that siren thing? No way. I saved our lives when I shot out that window. Dr. Collar heard the shots, though, so that's why he gets some of the credit."

"But I bought us the extra time with the _siren thing_. Those extra seconds allowed you the time to remember you had a gun."

"Which I used to shoot the window."

"Which you couldn't have done with pudding brain."

Booth sighed. "Fine, let's just agree that we are equally responsible for saving each other's life."

"I think those are acceptable terms. Though I suppose you'll want to take credit for saving my life when Hodgins and Mr. Nigel-Murray shot the cannon. You know, when you slammed me against the wall?"

The headlights from an oncoming truck illuminated Booth's face and Brennan saw him smirk.

"Nah," he said. "I just did that because I wanted to."

**VVVVV**

**Thanks for reading. A couple of things I noticed about the episode that will keep me grinning like an idiot--at the end of the pressure chamber scene, why was Booth's right hand/arm draped over Brennan like that? The other thing--I loved the little shoulder bump at the end of the bar scene. Yep, good times.**


End file.
